Strip club and city continue legal wrangling

A sign along Highway 10 points the way to the Rear End, September 15, 2015. The bar which has featured nude dancing for more than 30 years may have to cease the dancing because it is now in the city of Marshfield instead of the town of Cameron. Marshfield has an ordnance that prohibits nude dancing.(Photo: Dan Young/News-Herald Media)Buy Photo

MARSHFIELD — The gloves are coming off in a dispute between a strip club and the city of Marshfield.

Last month, the Rear End bar sued the city in an attempt to block — or at least delay — the city’s enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting nude dancing in bars.

The Rear End has operated as a strip club for more than 30 years, and did so in the town of Cameron. But that changed in August, when the city took control of the bar’s 17-acre parcel and other surrounding property that previously was part of Cameron.

As directed by the City Council, City Attorney Harold Wolfgram told the strip club on Sept. 9 that while it could keep a liquor license, it would have to cease nude dancing activities within 30 days, according to a letter Wolfgram wrote to the Rear End’s lawyer. If nude dancing does not stop at the club, the city would take enforcement action, Wolfgram said.

Exotic dancing business in danger

That could be costly. Anyone found to have violated the nude dancing ban could be fined between $500 and $1,000, which could be levied for each day the violation occurs. And should a violation of the ordinance be found, the city could have grounds to suspend or revoke the club’s liquor license.

In response, the Rear End filed documents in court on Monday asking a judge for a temporary restraining order and injunction against the city. If a judge grants that request, the city could be prevented from enforcing the nude dancing ordnance against the Rear End while the lawsuit remains pending.

A Wood County circuit judge will consider arguments on the strip club’s request at a hearing on Sept. 25, according to court records.

— Jonathan Anderson can be reached at jonathan.anderson@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-898-7010. Find him on Twitter as @jonathanderson.